Jaguars assistant coach George Yarno diagnosed with cancer

Jaguars offensive line coach George Yarno will not be taking a leave of absence with an undisclosed form of cancer.

Andrew Weber

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Veteran Jacksonville Jaguars line coach George Yarno has been diagnosed with cancer.

Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley did not disclose the type of cancer Yarno has, but says Yarno will not be taking a leave of absence from the team. He did say Yarno would miss some practice time with the team due to his treatment schedule.

Yarno was at the Jaguars OTA practice on Thursday, but spent most of his time on the sidelines. Assistant line coach Luke Butkus handled most of the individual drills.

"He has our full support in this fight that he’s about to undertake," Bradley said. "After being informed of the news yesterday, he did receive some really positive news. He’s received some positive news on his treatment options and how we’re going to go about attacking this.

"He’s confident in the treatment plan and felt really good after the initial part of it with the plan that the doctors have, and he’s actually excited about getting after this battle that he’s got."

Yarno has coached for 23 years including six years in the NFL. He joined the Jaguars coaching staff as offensive line coach in January of 2013.

The 55-year-old Yarno also had NFL coaching stops in Tampa Bay and Detroit.

Jaguars left tackle Luke Joeckel said he’s confident that Yarno can make a full and speedy recovery due to the coach’s toughness.

"I thought I was a tough guy but coach Yarno brings an extra toughness to every single meeting, every practice," Joeckel said. "You want to play hard for a guy like that. He’s going to fight through this and I’m sure he’ll be back in no time."

Added center Mike Brewster: "When he told us, we knew something was wrong. He’s usually the funniest guy in the room and super outgoing, but it was good to know that everything afterwards was positive with where it’s going to go and how it’s going to be taken care of."

Bradley said he had no intention of bringing in a replacement for Yarno.

"He will continue in his role as the offensive line coach, so when he’s here, he will be coaching the offensive line and when he is away from the office, we will act accordingly from the inside," Bradley said. "When he is capable, he’ll be out there."

Yarno has coached for 23 years including six years in the NFL. He joined the Jaguars coaching staff as offensive line coach in January of 2013.